Amidst a sea of blue and red, the Bruins huddled on their home court for the final time this season to face a familiar foe: USC.
“You live for these games,” said redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson. “We have some alumni coming back, and I’m excited to play in front of them, in front of my family, for senior night.”
Los Angeles’ most iconic collegiate rivalry always garners an electric crowd, but Thursday night’s battle with the Trojans earned a particularly decorated audience. The aforementioned alumni, families of the players and former head coach John Speraw were all present to bid farewell to UCLA’s five seniors in their last dance at Pauley Pavilion.
The team honored their graduating class with framed jerseys, leis and a third MSPF regular season title, inspiring many an eight clap as their lineup of upperclassmen overcame a young and gritty USC roster in five sets.
Robinson was at the heart of the operation, celebrating his UCLA swan song game with 25 kills — a career high — and ending the night with a .537 hitting percentage and a team best of 26.5 total points.
Redshirt junior libero Matthew Aziz put on a masterclass of his own for senior night, tallying six digs in one of his best performances of the season. Though UCLA has suffered a long sentence in defensive limbo — outside hitters thrown into libero jerseys, costly receiving errors, et cetera — Aziz rose to the occasion and answered many of USC’s plays with crucial pick ups, anchoring junior setter Andrew Rowan’s top-notch offense.
Rounding out the trio of seniors in the starting lineup was middle blocker Sean McQuiggan. The redshirt junior outperformed his counterpart, junior Cameron Thorne, on the net, accruing four block assists: more than enough to top the team stats. At 6’11, McQuiggan was a key factor in the battle of the middles, providing much needed respite versus USC’s seven foot freshman middle blocker Parker Tomkinson and his partner in crime, graduate Guy Genis, who forced many errors out of a generally clean cut Bruin arsenal.
On the other side of the coin, freshman outside hitter Sean Kelly held his own on a court full of upperclassmen, posting 13 kills and excelling in the back row with seven crucial digs. His defensive stats propelled him to share the number one spot on the dig leaderboard with former club teammate Johnny Dykstra, USC’s freshman libero, who — like Kelly — has amassed immense success in his collegiate debut season.
Though the upcoming departure of an unforgettable senior class will be a challenge, consistently impressive efforts from flourishing young talent provided a glimpse into the future of the rivalry.
And there is plenty to look forward to.
But for now, the Bruins remain a powerhouse championed by a senior-studded lineup. The team is slated to face the Trojans again on Saturday night at the Galen Center, where both teams will have a chance to better their performances at the service line, joust at the net and fight to end their season on a high note.
Redshirt junior Cooper Robinson goes in for the kill against the Trojans, contributing 13 kills in the game. Photographed by Ryan Zhang/BruinLife.
Cooper Robinson helps Sean Kelly to his feet after he secures a point in the fifth set for UCLA. Photographed by Ryan Zhang/BruinLife.
Sean McQuiggan prepares to spike the volleyball to counteract the strong opponent's serve. Photographed by Catherine Rodriguez/BruinLife. Photo credit: Catherine Rodriguez
UCLA’s Sean McQuiggan and Andrew Rowan erupt in celebration after denying USC with a dominant block at the net. Photographed by Ryan Zhang/BruinLife
Andrew Rowan collaborates with Sean McQuiggan by setting the volleyball for him to spike against USC. Photographed by Catherine Rodriguez/BruinLife. Photo credit: Catherine Rodriguez
The team congratulates themselves after a second win and strategize to keep playing consistently. Photographed by Catherine Rodriguez/BruinLife. Photo credit: Catherine Rodriguez
